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Aren't we supposed to be asking what we can do for our country?

"Ask not what you can do for your country; ask what your country can do for you."Now I know there are a handful of readers saying; "He has misquoted John F. Kennedy." For those of you out there who can remember what the real quote was; yes I did and I know it.I did so because I believe that too many Americans, from all socioeconomic walks of life, now believe that our local, state and federal governments owe them whatever it is that they want in life. This also includes many of our government officials who are supposedly representing our common good but seem to be more interested in their own.The "War on Poverty" declared in the sixties continues to this day, making it the longest war on record and the most expensive. Speaking of war, the first Federal Income Tax was instituted in 1861 to help fund The Civil War. It went away but returned in 1913 permanently (the 16th amendment) and continues to grow each year. In the early 1930s, "social insurance" was introduced during to the Great Depression. It was to help when the poverty rate was over 50 percent for senior citizens at that time. In 1935 The Social Security Act became law and through continuous amendments, it morphed into what we have today. It has expanded since its creation to provide a pension for everyone over the age of 62. Most paid into it for years, and is now a source of income to MANY with a disability, or injury. Many collect who have never contributed a dime to fund it, and it is even provided to some illegal immigrants. How long can it last?You can now obtain power chairs, nebulizers, catheters, oxygen, diabetes glucose testing monitors, and even adult diapers "...at little or no cost to you, and delivered discreetly to your door." And you wonder why Medicare and Medicaid are going bankrupt.There is presently a cadre of lawyers prepared to represent you; to sue drug companies for just about any prescription drug ever made that you may have taken. What's next; suing the doctors who prescribed it to you? Won't that help stabilize and bring down the cost of health care!And speaking of health care costs, we are continuing toward total socialized medicine with "Obamacare." What started out as a program to provide medical insurance to those people without it (even those who didn't want it) has become a nightmare to many people who had it to begin with. Instead of fixing a problem, it has expanded it!As the number of people, companies and corporations collecting these government freebies continues to increase, where does/will the money come from to fund them? Why yes — it comes from those people with personal responsibility, pride and who work hard to remain self reliant and disciplined. Sadly, it appears that the number of people footing the bill is quickly decreasing while those collecting increases with each passing day."Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country." What a concept! Will this mindset ever return? Will the American people ever look back into history to see how this country became great? Or will the insidious government dependence continue to grow, eventually and inevitably destroying our democracy?Have a nice day!Ken Knowlton